May 28, 2013

Peter Cushing, distinguished horror movie actor, goofs
around during an interview, in 1973.

The clip cuts short, but you’ll hear Cushing talk about
Frankenstein. The video concludes with a British television report on a
surprise party for a frail but cheerful Cushing on the occasion of his 80th
birthday in 1993.

This one’s a well-done tribute to Cushing using film clips, and
set to Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now.

And here’s comic Alan Davies performing Peter Cushing
Lives in Whitstable, animated for British
TV. If you prefer the original artists, listen here to The Jellybottys.

Over at Let’s Get Out of Here!, Craig Edwards continues to map Peter Cushing’s career in movie
posters. Today’s titles cover 1959 to 1966. The collection includes such
triumphs as The Mummy, Brides
of Dracula and The Skull, along with more obscure crime dramas and rarely
seen swashbucklers. Go look!

Up on the movie blog The House of Sparrows, Dave Robson takes a look at The Legend of
the 7 Golden Vampires (1974), the bizarre
but curiously enjoyable late Hammer entry co-produced by the Shaw Brothers that
took Cushing’s Van Helsing out to Chongqing, land of hopping vampires.
Personally, I would have gone for a whole series of Seventies-style Kung-Fu
vampires with Cushing as the action hero.

In a brilliant little post called Sisters, David Cairns looks at George Stevens’ Vigil in the Night (1940) as a transitional piece in the directors’ evolution from light fare to serious drama. Of Cushing’s fine supporting performance, David ponders whether the actor, shortly before his sprint back home to England, was ever destined for Hollywood stardom.

Cairns’ writing — sharp, astute and funny — makes me want to either throw in the towel and give up, or dig in and work harder at writing better. Hell, I don’t know what to do. Damn you, David Cairns.

Cushing’s Sherlock Holmes gets his due today. First up,
Yvette of In So Many Words shares her
enthusiasm for Hammer’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and its great cast. The whole thing is
illuminated with a generous selection of stills.

At The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion — which would make a great title for a Holmes
adventure! — Joe Thompson computes Six Degrees of Peter Cushing: Sherlock Holmes. They’re all here, from
Gillette, Barrymore, Wontner, to Rathbone, to Downey Jr., and Cumberbatch, and
everyone in between. Elementary fun.

Horror writer Orrin Grey reflects on the six Hammer Frankensteins starring Peter Cushing and draws up a list of favorite things from the series: Favorite Assistant, favorite lab, favorite creature — The Baron was prolific —, as well as his favorite Cushing performance and, ultimately, his favorite Hammer Frankenstein.
See if you agree with Orrin’s sometimes surprising choices.

"If you're at all obsessed with the gothic and perverse, this blog is a major time sink — so be warned. We've been blown away by the breadth and depth of the Frankenstein art on the site.” — Charlie Jane Anders, i09

“I continue to be amazed, amused, delighted, and awed by Pierre Fournier's blog… No one does it better." — Susan Tyler Hitchcock, author of Frankenstein, A Cultural History, Monster Sightings

“THE shining example of the wonderful things that happen when passionate devotion to a subject combines with a relentless inquisitiveness and exemplary research skills… consistently excellent writing and presentation.” — The Vicar of VHS,Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies

“A fabulous trove of Frankenstein-related information, images, trivia, and more.” — Seo-Young J. Chu,Queens College,The City University of New York

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